THE art of biography, we say — but at once go on to ask, Is biography an art? The question is foolish perhaps, and ungenerous certainly, considering the keen pleasure that biographers have given us.

Each age has its own way of drawing the arc of a human life. Ours is concerned with its unpredictability. Credit...Photo illustration by Ricardo Tomas Supported by By Parul Sehgal Parul Sehgal is a ...